The present invention relates to a passenger protecting apparatus for protecting a passenger sitting on the seat of the vehicle such as an automotive vehicle in the event of a collision.
Various types of air bag apparatuses, air belt apparatuses, or air curtain apparatuses have been developed as systems to protect passengers in the automotive vehicle in the event of a collision.
An apparatus has been proposed for raising the front portion of the seat cushion upon collision of the vehicle in order to prevent a submarine phenomenon where the passenger is squeezed out through the lap belt downwardly in case of a frontal crash even when the passenger is wearing the seat belt. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-309967, a vehicle seat in which the front end of the seat cushion is adapted to be raised by a cartridge actuator is disclosed, and in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-217818, a vehicle seat in which the front end of the seat cushion is raised by an air bag is disclosed.